Latest Posts by terra-fatalis - Page 3

FFVII Remake Easter Eggs and compilation continuity - Part 8: OG FINAL FANTASY VII

 ELEMENTS USED IN A DIFFERENT CONTEXT OR FOR A DIFFERENT PURPOSE

SAVE POINTS

The save points of the original FFVII consisted in an angled C (”check point”) floating on a crystal base. In the REmake there are no more save points but the same symbols appear on the healing benches.  

PHS

In the OG the player could use the PHS tool in the world map or at the save points to switch the party members. In the Remake there are PHS terminals in Shinra HQ that the group use to communicate and switch between two parties in Chapter 17. 

  TIFA’S PIANO

During her childhood Tifa had a piano in her bedroom. Among the many posters of the REmake there are some with the image of a keyboard, one of them indeed hung in Tifa’s bedroom.  

THE HOUSE SPECIAL

We know from the original game that Avalanche was originally founded in Cosmo Canyon. This is also the name of one of the drinks served at Seventh Heaven, Avalanche’s hideout. 

OG: Cosmo Canyon... This is where AVALANCHE was born...

Remake: Our house special: the Cosmo Canyon. 

BEST GUIDE

When Sephiroth, Zack and Cloud arrived at Nibelheim  years before, Tifa escorted them to the reactor, saying she was the best guide of the town. In the Remake too she proposes to be Cloud’s guide in the Sector 7 slums (reference more clear in the Jp version).

OG: I’m the number one guide in this town.

Remake: I know these streets better than anyone. (Jp version: I’m the best guide of the slums).

PARACHUTING

In the OG Cloud and the others parachuted themselves on Midgar from the Highwind, in order to prevent Hojo to use the Sister Ray to help Sephiroth. In the Remake Cloud, Jessie, Biggs and Wedge parachute back in Sector 7 after the mission in Chapter 4.

MUSEUM

At Gold Saucer, Dio had a personal museum with a big picture of himself. Moreover, he had also a massive gold statue at the top of the amusement park. In the Remake, the 60th floor of the Shinra building hosts a museum where there’s also a big golden statue of the President. 

VIRTUAL REALITY

Bugenhagen has a 3D holographic symulator in the Cosmo Canyon observatory, necessary for his planetology studies (Shinra machinary he received from Professor Gast). “Cosmos theatre” is a 3D virtual reality symulator where visitors can learn about the Ancients and the Promised Land. 

DA-CHAO

During Intermission Yuffie uses to eat “Da-chao beans”. Da-Chao an important water deity of Wutai and its massive statue is sculpted in the mountain overlooking village. 

WALL MARKET

In the original FFVII, the Honeybee Inn was a brothel, while in the Remake it’s a night club. Anyway, the hand massages at Madam M’s parlor are kind of allusive, especially the Luxory Course.

ARENA

The Battle Square (or Battle Arena or Colosseum) was an area of the Gold Saucer, where Cloud could entertain Dio with a match in exchange of the Keystone. In the Remake, also Corneo has a Colosseum at Wall Market.

DATES

In the OG, depending on the player’s choices, Cloud could spend a date at the Gold Saucer with Aerith, Tifa, Yuffie or Barret. A similar system exists also in the Remake and it affects a cutscene at the beginning of Chapter 14. 

SHOWMAN

During the date at the Gold Saucer, Cloud and the girl (NB: not Barret) had to take part to a stage show where they played the parts of the knight and the princess. In the Remake, in order to obtain the dress-up to infiltrate Corneo’s Mansion, he has to take part to a dance show at the Honey Bee Inn. 

THE PRINCESS 

Princess Rosa was one of the protagonists of the Gold Saucer show, played by Aerith, Tifa or Yuffie during the date. In the Remake Cloud can read a letter in the room of Jessie’s father, where Jessie announced to her parents that she obtained the part of the princess in a show at Gold Saucer. 

Jessie Raspberry as...the Princess?

FIREWORKS

There were fireworks creating a romantic atmosphere during the ride on the gondola at Gold Saucer. In the Remake, if Aerith is wearing the red dress, her appearance is accompanied by fireworks and red carpet. 

KISS

The LTD has split the fandom for ages, but the only two girls who have ever been shown kissing Cloud are Yuffie (during her GS date) and Jessie (if the player manages to end the bike minigame in Chapter 4 with HP above 80%).

DREAM

In the OG Aerith appeared in Cloud’s dream just before getting to the City of the Ancients, the place where Sephiroth killed her. In the Remake this dream is hinted in two scenes:

1) The way Aerith appeared at Cloud at the beginning of Chapter 9 recalls the way she appeared in his dream (which triggers in Cloud a vision of her death). 

2) She appears in his dreams again during her resolution scene, using gestures and words that hint at her death. 

VOICES OF THE PLANET 

Aftyer Meteor was summoned in the OG, Cloud and the others could hear the scream of the Planet from the Highwind. In the Remake, when the group faced Sephiroth at the end of the highway, the Whispers start screaming in pain and Aerith said those were the voices of the Planet.  

OG: RedXIII: Did you...hear something? - Tifa: The Planet’s scream...or Meteor? Is it this Planet? - Cloud: Hey, how do we know that this is really the Planet’s scream? - Tifa: Did you forget? Bugenhagen told us.

Remake: What you heard just now were the voices of the planet. Those born into this world. Who lived and who died. Who returned. They're howling in pain. (...) They... Their words...they don't reach him. All these moments and memories, precious and fleeting...they're like rain rolling off his back... And when they're gone, he won't cry...or shout...or anything.

CLOUD VS SEPHIROTH

In the original FFVII, after the defeat of Safer∙Sephiroth, Cloud and Sephiroth had a final mental duel. At the end of the Remake Sephiroth mentally drags Cloud to the “Edge of Creation” with a symilar dynamic.  

FFVII Remake Easter Eggs and compilation continuity - Part 7: OG FINAL FANTASY VII

ELEMENTS ORIGINALLY SHOWED AFTER THE MIDGAR SECTION & VISIONS OF THE FUTURE

CAIT SITH

This character didn’t show up until the group reached the Gold Saucer. In the Remake he witnesses the plate fall.

YUFFIE

In the OG Yuffie could only be recruited after visiting the Mythril Mines and nothing hints she had ever been in Midgar before. Now she is the protagonist of Intermission, spending a whole day in Midgar, getting to see Barret’s cell and infiltrating in Shinra HQ thanks to Avalanche. Some main points of this character have already been shown like the rivalry between her and her father, some details of the Wutai war and even her motion sickness.

ROMANTIC RUDE

In the OG Rude confessed Reno that he liked Tifa. In the Remake, when he spotted her on the Sector 7 pillar, he deviated the chopper to prevent Reno from killing her.

Reno: Dammit! You wanna explain yourself, partner?

Rude: Uh... Hand slipped.

PALMER’S TEA

In the original, at Cid’s house, Palmer asked for some tea with “sugar, honey and lard”. In the Remake he walks in the corridor of Shinra HQ with a cup of tea, complaining that he ran out of butter (though in Japanese it’s still “lard”).

Oh dear, oh dear... A man of my refined tastes running out of butter! Shorn of its proper accompainment, this tea...might as well be boiled pond water!

BLACK-CAPED MEN

In the original there was just one clone in Midgar, in Sector 5, and he wasn’t wearing the black cape yet, while in the Remake they can be met also in Midgar. 

The Remake also confirms that also some former SOLDIERs can turn into caped men, something that the OG revealed only in an optional scene in Junon.

OG: I used to be in SOLDIER. Lately I’ve felt like dressing up like this...

Remake: My dad told me that that man, he used to be a SOLDIER when he was younger. I heard he came back because he got sick or something. Isn't that kinda weird? Can SOLDIERs even get sick?

This concept is further - more openly - reiterated also in Intermission:

Nayo: Mako poisoning. That's what happens if you don't make the grade as a SOLDIER...or when the military's done using you.

REUNION

When Cloud attacks Marco believing he’s Sephiroth he has a vision of the Reunion at Whirlwind Maze.

BARRET’S PAST

In the Remake Barret mentions the day he survived from the destruction of his home town, while in the original this happened one the group arrived in Corel.

Wouldn't be the first time I spit in destiny's eye. Whether you can see the seams or you can't...doesn't change that she's always trying to have it her way.

JENOVA

In the original game the first fight against Jenova took place on the Cargo ship, while in the Remake the group fights it in Chapter 17. 

Note: the first form of Jenova in the original was called Jenova∙BIRTH (followed later by Jenova∙LIFE, Jenova∙DEATH and Jenova∙SYNTHESIS). In Remake it is called Dreamweaver, referring to its ability to project illusions, while the Japanese sticks to the original calling it Jenova Beat, hinting to the prenatal heartbeat of fetuses. 

LIFESTREAM

During the presentation at Cosmo theatre (an allusion itself to Cosmo Canyion) the group can see a depiction of the Lifestream flowing throughout the Planet. In the original this only happened at the very end when Aerith summoned it. 

MATERIA

During the aforementioned presentation it was explained how the Ancients were able to create Materia with condensed Lifestream, while in the original it was explained during the flashback in Kalm.

7R: In the distant past, our planet was home to a people we call the Ancients. Many millennia before we discovered mako, these precursors were already pioneering its use. Somehow they learned of the great reservoir of energy pulsing beneath their feet. And once they had...the Ancients developed the means to harness this bountiful energy and bend it to their will. The fruits of their labors have survived to this very day in the form of certain kinds of materia.

OG: Materia. When you condense Mako energy, materia is produced. It’s very rare to be able to see materia in its natural state. (...)...the knowledge and wisdom of the Ancients is held in the Materia.

PROUD CLOD

During intermission Yuffie can see the Proud Clod still under construction stored in Shinra underground. Moreover, the Pride and Joy Prototype (in Japanese: Proud Clad Unit Zero) is a boss that can be fought in Shinra battle simulator.

MIND READER

During the second bombing mission Tifa jokingly asks Cloud if he could read her mind. This is a hint to Jenova’s ability to read minds.

7R:  I swear, your timing was perfect. It's almost like...you could read my mind. SOLDIERs can't do that, can they?

OG: Inside of you, Jenova has merged with Tifa’s memories, creating you.

CHILDHOOD MEMORIES

In the Remake Cloud "remembers” two episodes of his childhood in Nibelheim, scenes that originally were included in the Lifestream sequence in Mideel.

BURNING TOWN

During the first vision of Sephiroth in Chapter 2, Cloud re-experiences the distruction of NIbelheim. This info wasn’t revealed in the OG until the flashback in Kalm.

TEST SUBJECT

When Cloud, Barret and Tifa discover the secret underground lab with specimen detained in mako tanks, Cloud starts remembering his captivity in the basement of Shinra Mansion. This was originally revealed only in the optional cutscene in the basement of the Mansion, after the Lifestream sequence.

MAKO POISONING

Mako poisoning is an element that in the OG was explained just in Mideel, while in the Remake Jessie’s father suffers of the same condition. A sector 7 NPC also witnesses one of Cloud’s Jenova headaches and suggests he may be Mako poisonesd (before the whispers intervene).

7R: [Chapter 3] What the—You okay, buddy? Mako junkie, huh? Figures...

[Chapter 4] Jessie's got a theory about it. Thinks her dad's spirit is stuck now—between his body and the heart of the planet.

OG: He probably has no idea who or where he is now... Poor fellow, his voice doesn’t even work. He is literally miles away from us. Some place far away where no one’s ever been... All alone...

UNCOMFORTABLE TRUTH

Discovering that in reality Cloud never made it in SLDIER was a pivotal plot twist of the OG. In the Remake that’s hinted more than once, until Hojo openly reveals it. 

No, not quite. Oh, now I recall. My memory was mistaken. My boy, you weren't a SOLDIER...

SEPHIROTH’S DEATH

In Chapter 2 Cloud remembers he killed Sephiroth. This is surprising as in the OG, during Kalm flashback, he told the group that he didn’t know what happened to Sephiroth after Nibelheim incident, even pointing out that, in terms of strength, he couldn’t have killed him.

AERITH’S DEATH

Cloud has some visions of Aerith’s death: after falling in her church in Chapter 8 (pics 2 and 3) and at the beginning of Chapter 9 (pics 1 and 4). Moreover he and the rest of the group have a blurred vision of her death in Chapter 18, Aerith’s refers to death in her resolution scene and Sephiroth tells him he’s unable to protect people in Chapter 2 (while seeing Aerith for the first time) and in Chapter 13 (after she’s been kidnapped). 

METEOR

Cloud, and the others have visions of Meteor and the storm that destroyed Midgar at the end of the OG in Chapters 16 and 18. 

FFVII Remake Easter Eggs and compilation continuity - Part 6: THE KIDS ARE ALRIGHT: A TURKS SIDE STORY

NEW CHARACTERS

The novel introduces new characters like:

LESLIE

KYRIE

MIREILLE

MERLE

PHOTOS

In the book Evan tells Tifa about some pictures of ladies he found at Corneo’s Mansion. In the Remake indeed Corneo takes various pictures of Cloud. 

Cloud: What was that?

Don Corneo: Don’t you worry your pretty little head. Just a picture to preserve the moment! And to ensure you don’t do anything inappropriate like say “No”... 

FAMILY

Ms Folia, the teacher of the Leaf House, said she considers the kids of the orphanage as a real family. The same concept is repeated at the end of the novel when Kyrie states that she, Evan and Bits form a real family even if they’re not relatives, and Cloud confirms he feels the same about his own family (this concept was already touched also in On the way to a Smile from Tifa’s pov).

But I want the children to know that until they can stand on their own two feet that I'm here to support them, care for them, love them—that even if we're not actually related, we're still a family—a real family, in all the ways that matter. If I can do that for them, then well...then maybe I'm making this world a better place.

FFVII Remake Easter Eggs and compilation continuity - Part 5: ON THE WAY TO A SMILE

FRUITS AND VEGETABLES

Jessie: I make a mean pizza, I’ll have you know! Marche, luche, black milly, red shelly - I use only the best ingredients! Sound good?

Cloud: Never heard of any of that stuff.

A NEW BAR 

Some months after Meterofall, Barret, Tifa and Cloud opened a new bar in Edge.

Barret: I guess...we’ll build another bar.

Tifa: Yeah. We will. You’ll help too, won’t you?

Cloud: For a price.

DENZEL

Cloud found Denzel, an orphan in need affected by Geostigma, in front of Aerith’s church and decided to bring him home. In remake Aerith used to visit an orphanage placed near her house, in Sector 5.

BARRET’S MISSION

After Metorfall and the defeat of Shinra, the world lost its primary energy source and got plagued by Geostigma. Barret embarked on a journey to amend for his sins and he finally resolved to do it by finding a new energy source and so help people start a new life. 

You’re lying to yourself, even now. (...) Picture it! Picture a world without Shinra. Without Mako energy. A stagnant, impotent world. Now picture a natural disaster. Who would help the people? Help to recover and rebuild? You? With their old world ruined, will they thank you for the new?

MEMORIES

After being killed at the end of FFVII, Sephiroth tied his existence to Cloud’s memories, creating a bond between them.

Were the planet to die, so many things would be lost. (...) That which binds us together would be no more. And I would be loath to live in such a world. 

(...)

Our world will become a part of it...one day. But I...will not end. Nor will I have you end. (...) The edge of creation. Cloud, lend me your strength. Let us defy destiny...together.

GUILT

In the OG Tifa doesn’t show much hesitation about AVALANCHE methods and the regret for the victims of Sector 7 is just slightly mentioned a couple o times, while that’s one of her major traits in the Remake. This characterization comes from Episode Tifa, that fully explores her feelings about her past actions and their consequences. 

A whole lotta mormal people with families and friends work for Shinra. People just trying to support their loved ones as best they can. I know it's not exactly a revelation, but... It's easy to forget.

FFVII Remake Easter Eggs and compilation continuity - Part 4: DIRGE OF CERBERUS

[Includes: DoC Online Multiplayer - DoC - DoC Lost Episode]

SHINRA’S DARKEST SECRET

In Chapter 3, Weimar tells Cloud and Tifa of the rumors about undregroud secret labs. In Chapter 13, after the plate fall, Cloud, Barret and Tifa enter this mysterious underground facility full of monsters and Mako tanks.

7R: There’s a crazy story about a Shinra research lab hidden right beneath our feet - under the slums.

DoC: Deepground soldiers. (...) The shadow of the Shinra company, constructed by the former president and completely hidden from the rest of the world. (...) His goal was to create an army of superhuman warriors - not once letting morality interfere.

  INTERMISSION

During Intermission it is not only confirmed the existence of Deepground but Yuffie and Sonon fight against some soldiers in their DoC uniforms.

Nero: "Team"? Fool. There are no "teams" in Deepground.

Yuffie: Deep...ground?

Nero: The place where my brother and I like to play.

WEISS AND NERO

After getting to Deepground Yuffie and Sonon had to fight against one of the Deepground Tsviets, Nero. Meanwhile Weiss was added as a boss fight in the Shinra Combat Simulator. 

VITUAL REALITY

The overall concept of Shinra using VR simulators comes from DoC. In particoular, in DoC Multiplayer SOLDIERs and Tsviets used to train exclusively in VR arenas. 

MOOGLE YUFFIE

During the first half of Intermission Yuffie wears a tattered cloak with a moogle hood. This piece of clothing appeared for the first time in Dirge of Cerberus. 

Matchy-matchy 👑🥲

Woof

If this isn't soulmate material than I don't know what is. She looks so proud 🥲😂

A Glimpse into Cloud's Mentality in Advent Children

This is kind of meant to serve as a companion piece to my three-part series on Cloud's psychology in Final Fantasy VII. I haven't addressed Advent Children Cloud yet, who arguably has an entirely different set of psychological problems to deal with. While OG Cloud was certainly driven by trauma, trauma was not his primary demon. Yet I often hear people say that AC Cloud definitely has PTSD or disorder XYZ. So, I thought I'd use my clinical background to break down what happened in Cloud's head during AC. I will not be discussing disorders here, since I'm saving those for another post.

Trauma

I know I literally just said trauma wasn't OG Cloud's primary demon, but that's why I specified OG Cloud. AC Cloud is in an entirely new context with a new set of problems, part of which involves how trauma affects his life after the main conflict is over. So to start, let's first answer the question of "Why does trauma stay with a person even after the cause of the trauma is no longer there?"

Think of the traumatized brain as a brain stuck in survival mode. It learned from a past traumatic experience that you can't afford to turn off this survival mentality, that you need to constantly be on alert. This is part of the primitive fight, flight, or freeze response that humans have, and for someone who is in a traumatizing situation, that response is absolutely necessary for coping with it. But, when you are finally safe and no longer in a dangerous situation, the traumatized brain may not know how to turn survival mode off. Therefore, it continues to provide a trauma response even in the absence of danger. This kind of mentality exhausts you and is why traumatized people still struggle even after they've been removed from their traumatizing situation. It's not that they don't realize they're safe now, but it's that their brains are stuck in this pattern of survival.

Although I wouldn't necessarily describe Cloud this way, this is still a great framework to explain what happened to him. During the events of FFVII, Cloud was in a perpetual state of survival. Once the planet was saved and Cloud could finally settle down in a place to call home, he was no longer in a state where he needed to constantly fend for his life. Cloud might still travel the planet for his delivery job and defend himself from monsters on the road, but the difference post-Meteorfall is that he now has a safe and secure home to return to in Edge. On the Way to a Smile: Case of Tifa even clarifies that Cloud was hopeful for the future right after the OG ended, that he had optimism towards the prospect of starting his newly peaceful life. Yet, he becomes unsettled by this peace partly because he was too used to surviving for so long. His trauma mindset couldn't turn off properly even when he wanted to relax and enjoy the peace he's earned, setting Cloud down a path of cognitive distress.

Oftentimes, when someone who has experienced trauma finally has the opportunity to process it, he is prone to something called rumination. In clinical terms, rumination can be described as a maladaptive perseverative cognition, or in simpler terms, a repetitive focus on distress. It's typically connected to catastrophic thinking (pondering about the worst possible outcomes/scenarios) and a fixation on loss. The American Psychological Association describes it as "obsessional thinking involving excessive, repetitive thoughts or themes that interfere with other forms of mental activity." Another working definition of it from the National Center for Biotechnology Information describes it as "a detrimental psychological process characterized by perseverative thinking around negative content that generates emotional discomfort" (Sansone & Sansone, 2012). The key to rumination is that though it can be self-reflective, it more often resembles brooding. Rumination is a feature of many different disorders, but most commonly associated with anxiety and depressive disorders.

Part of what sent Cloud spiraling was a pattern of ruminative thoughts in the absence of immediate external threats. He's living a peaceful life, but his survival mentality can't shut down easily. He has the time to ruminate on his past failures to the point of interfering with his ability to enjoy his life. If Cloud had used this rumination to put more effort into his job and his family, then he would've been using self-reflection. However, what he's fixated on is his own regrets, which created a pattern of brooding and pessimism. This type of regretful thinking surrounding death even has its own term.

Survivor Guilt

Survivor guilt used to be a diagnosable disorder in the DSM-III, but the DSM-IV reconceptualized it as a symptom of PTSD and the DSM-5 removed it as a symptom entirely (Murray, Pethania, & Medin, 2021). I believe it's because survivor guilt isn't a well-defined or well-researched phenomenon, currently putting it in an undefined territory between a disorder and a symptom. Once there's more empirical research in the field exploring survivor guilt, it may be reintroduced into the DSM, but otherwise it's an open avenue of continuous exploration. Regardless, this doesn't make survivor guilt any less significant or valid in the field of mental health, especially since it is often a part of complex trauma and grief.

Despite the grayness surrounding survivor guilt as a term, I can't think of a better one to describe what Cloud went through. Definition debates aside, survivor guilt generally applies to people who "survived" a traumatic event when others did not. Even though guilt is already a common symptom of PTSD, people with survivor guilt usually feel responsible for another person's death or injury, even when they never really had any power or influence over the situation. Cloud ruminates over Zack and Aerith's deaths due to survivor guilt, and he explicitly states his survivor guilt over Aerith's death in AC. Though neither death was directly his fault, he feels responsible for them in different ways.

For Zack, he felt helpless about how his mako poisoning left him completely dependent on Zack. Zack didn't have to save Cloud. He didn't have to carry him across the world for a year, only to die when they nearly reached their destination. Cloud's guilt surrounding Zack's death is very much in the thought of "it should've been me." Cloud should've been the one to perish, or if Zack simply abandoned Cloud, perhaps he would've made it to Midgar alive.

For Aerith, Cloud feels a greater sense of responsibility for her wellbeing. Their dynamic was established with the notion of Cloud being her bodyguard, as someone whose job is to protect her. Yet, he hurt her at the Temple of the Ancients, and he almost struck her when the party finally reunites with her at the Forgotten City. He was doing the exact opposite of what he was supposed to do. To cap it off, Sephiroth impales Aerith right before Cloud's eyes. Was Jenova preventing him from moving forward to try and save her? Or was Cloud just too paralyzed in the moment to act? Cloud would probably never truly know the answer.

Even when Tifa urges him to think of the present, Cloud feels weighed down by the past. He also asks Vincent if sins can be forgiven, showing that he feels deeply responsible for the deaths he could not prevent. We know that neither Zack's nor Aerith's deaths were Cloud's responsibility, yet he shoulders them anyway as though the blood was on his own hands. Survivor guilt is tough because it always concerns something that happened in the past that can't be changed. It's a product of rumination, of thought patterns stuck on the what-ifs and should-haves.

Grieving and Healing

The reality is, Cloud will very likely continue to struggle with this guilt throughout his life. He will never be able to answer the what-ifs, and never know what the should-haves could've done to change the course of history. If Cloud's going through a particularly tough emotional patch, he might fall back a bit into his old pattern of rumination. The dual process model of grief, depicted above, portrays how healing from grief is not a linear, one-way process. Rather, it can be a lifelong process where Cloud must grow around his grief, rather than letting it become a fixture in his life.

So, how do we know that Cloud is truly on the way to healing at the end of the day? At the very end of AC, after all the credits have rolled, we hear one final exchange between Cloud and Denzel.

Denzel: Is this somebody’s grave? Cloud: No. This is where a hero began his journey.

If I'm not mistaken, this may be the first and only time we've seen Cloud truly acknowledge himself as a hero. While this line can also refer to Zack ("Would you say I [finally] became a hero?"), this also clearly refers to the moment that Cloud took on Zack's legacy, therefore his hero's journey by extension. This is a far cry from "I'm not fit to help anyone."

The other beautiful aspect of this final scene is that it visually shows up how Cloud dealt with his guilt and grief. Look at Zack's final resting place at the start of AC compared to after. Before, Zack's grave was more or less neglected. The buster sword was left to rust and the ground is completely barren. The wolf, meant to represent Cloud's guilt and regret, is present there. Afterwards, when Cloud took the buster sword away, flowers bloomed in its place. The wolf is also no longer present. I like to think of this as a representation of how Cloud made the transition from guilt over Zack's death to celebrating Zack's life. Celebrating the life of a loved one who passed is one of the key ways to work through grief over loss in a healthy way. Rather than fixating on the what-ifs and regrets, grief work focuses on how to honor the loved one and keep their memory close.

The final shot then, with the buster sword placed in the tranquil Sector 5 church, is nothing less than a memorial to Zack and Aerith. The buster sword is clean again and free of rust, now in a sheltered place surrounded by Aerith's healing rain. It is now surrounded by life, in the place where Cloud was welcomed back by his loved ones and resolved to move forward. He can now think of the beautiful parts of Zack and Aerith's lives and cherish their memories, rather than ruminate on them. I can't say that Cloud's journey is a pinnacle example of healing from guilt and grief, but it certainly has a beautifully symbolic depiction of what healing looks like.

Aerith in the Sleeping Forest

Patreon | Redbubble

A Clinical Analysis of Cloud's Psychology, Part III - Reintegration and Unconditional Love

This is the conclusion to my series on Cloud's psychology, where I will discuss identity reintegration. The original was posted on Reddit. You don't need to have read the other posts to understand this one, but it's highly encouraged so you can follow my overall train of thought. I'll still include a quick and dirty review of the important concepts from Part II that will be relevant here. To provide some background, I'm currently training in clinical diagnosis and psychotherapy to become a psychologist. I want to apply what I know to break down our understanding of Cloud in a clinical context.

Part I - Trauma, Dissociation, and Psychosis Part II - Identity, Self-Concept, and Mako Part III - Reintegration and Unconditional Love [you are here]

I find the term reintegration very fitting, considering that Cloud's recovery is portrayed by multiple Clouds coming back together again into one whole person. We've established how Cloud's sense of self was shattered through a combination of trauma, Jenova cells, mako poisoning, and his innate desire for strength. In the real world, he'd likely need therapy over his entire lifetime in order to reorganize his identity. But since this is Final Fantasy, Cloud has access to a special metaphysical experience. When Cloud and Tifa fell into the lifestream, he was able to literally pull Tifa into his subconscious and enable her to help organize his memories. I'm going to discuss how and why this works, as well as why Cloud needed Tifa specifically. I'm NOT trying to put a shipping angle on this, I'm just primarily interested in what it took for Cloud to heal, and it's impossible to ignore Tifa's importance in this case.

Quick Recap of Self-Concept

Self-concept, or your understanding of who you are, is made up of three main parts:

Ideal Self - Who you want or aspire to be

Real Self - Who you actually are

Self-Image - Your mental picture of yourself

A good self-image relies on congruence between the ideal self and the real self. Basically, the more similar they are, the better your self-esteem. If they are dissimilar, then it creates incongruence that reduces self-esteem.

Cloud's ideal self wants to be strong, but his real self never made SOLDIER, resulting in incongruence and low self-esteem for much of his life. After Zack's death, Cloud's ex-SOLDIER persona was born inspired by his ideal self, made to help him process his trauma. This boosted congruence but caused him to dissociate from his real self, leaving him vulnerable to manipulation.

The Importance of Tifa

The cornerstone of identity reintegration in the real world is relational support. Because the individual can't rely on himself to reorient who he is, he needs someone else that is able to do that for him, to contain his uncertainties. This often refers to the therapeutic relationship between a patient and his therapist, where the therapist's assurance provides support to the patient and helps him gain the confidence to safely explore his identity. It's clear that for Cloud, the person who helps him reorient his sense of self is Tifa. While Tifa serves the important role of helping Cloud clarify his memories, this alone isn't sufficient for reintegration, the same as how confronting people with the truth doesn't resolve their delusions. It's Cloud's relationship to Tifa that gave him a source of stability to ground him.

In Cloud's subconscious, Tifa helped Cloud remember key parts of his past that explain who he is in the present and why he knows the things that he does. In psychology, the subconscious contains information that isn't immediately part of a person's awareness, therefore this tells us that Cloud indeed still has his real self buried within him. One of the Clouds is different, a child version of him that is meant to represent his true feelings and therefore can be thought of as his real self. This child Cloud ends up explaining the roots of his identity, primarily his ideal self and how it came to be. Child Cloud explains to Tifa that the reason he wanted to join SOLDIER was because he failed to protect Tifa from falling at Mt. Nibel. This tells us that Tifa is at the root of Cloud's ideal self, something that I will keep emphasizing as the key to her importance.

Because Tifa is the root of his ideal self, she is also a massive determinant of Cloud's self-image. This is precisely why Tifa ended up being the final key to Cloud's breakdown at the Northern Crater. When a relational support is feeling anxious or overwhelmed, this spills over to the person relying on her. Prior to Cloud's disappearance after he gave Sephiroth the black materia, Tifa wasn't able to fully be there for Cloud because of her own confusion and apprehension towards Cloud's ex-SOLDIER persona. This only escalated when Sephiroth used her memories against Cloud, casting doubt on whether or not the Cloud she saw in front of her was Cloud from Nibelheim. Remember, the looking glass self draws self-esteem and self-image from how other people see the individual. When Cloud was unsure of who he was, he attempted to look to Tifa for reassurance, and in the moment she was unable to provide that.

Once they're in the lifestream, a large part of what Tifa did was help Cloud affirm that his memories are real. The spent a lot of their time in Cloud's subconscious comparing his memories to Tifa's. But, it was only when Cloud recalled memories that even Tifa couldn't recall that they truly began to make progress with Cloud's identity reintegration. Tifa didn't dig up Cloud's memories, but notably she prompted Cloud to recall why he wanted to join SOLDIER in the first place. Through this, Cloud was prompted to remember the failures that led to his enlistment. Cloud seemed hesitant to talk about his childhood memories related to this, but Tifa provided continuous encouragement as he walked through what happened. And, by recalling why he wanted to join SOLDIER, Cloud was reminded that he never lived up to that dream, directing them to reflect on the Nibelheim Incident again.

Unconditional Love

If we're trying to look at this from a psychology angle, I'd argue that confirming Cloud's memories isn't the most important thing Tifa did for him. The treatment modality that real world therapists use for identity reintegration is called unconditional positive regard, which is unconditional acceptance of a patient as he is. This is telling the patient, "I'm not here to judge you, I will see you and accept you for who you are." This is how the therapist helps the patient manage his fears and anxieties, creating the space for safely exploring his identity. But Tifa isn't Cloud's therapist, she's a dear friend who has a personal relationship with him. When talking about how loved ones help people experiencing identity problems, we say that their unconditional love is what supports the individual. This is why Cloud needed a loved one to be there with him in his subconscious, so that he could find the courage to explore it. Tifa's devotion in particular is so strong that she decided to stay with him in Mideel, when he was at his weakest. Cloud can easily find assurance that she is there to stay and that even when he is weak, she will still accept him. Also, it's worth mentioning that by allowing Tifa into his subconscious, Cloud is expressing unconditional love for her as well. He doesn't blame her for doubting him and still seeks comfort and reassurance from her.

Remember that Cloud's self-esteem is built upon his ability to protect those he cares about. However, Tifa's unconditional love allows him to reshape how his looking-glass self works. Crucially, she affirmed that Cloud did keep his promise, that he did protect her during the Nibelheim Incident. It's a fairly quick moment in the OG, but arguably one of the most important things Tifa says in the story. Cloud felt like he's been failing Tifa for years, but once Tifa tells him that he kept his promise after all, she is telling him that his real self is more congruent with his ideal self than he thinks. Remember, Tifa is at the root of Cloud's ideal self, which is why he cares so much about what she thinks. By providing affirmation, Tifa gave Cloud a means to reconceptualize his self-esteem in a more positive manner. Her unconditional love is also what gives him the courage to openly admit his facade to the rest of the party later on. There also, when Cloud explains how his ex-SOLDIER persona was an illusion, the party doesn't judge him or chastise him for it. They listen to him openly and accept him for who he is, providing unconditional love through their unyielding support for the main mission. This is another rather quick scene, but very necessary for Cloud nonetheless.

Tifa provided Cloud with unconditional love and affirmed congruence between his real self and ideal self. This positively affected his self-esteem and overall self-image, giving him a pathway back to accepting his true self and reintegrating it into his self-concept. It's very clever how the true retelling of the Nibelheim Incident manages to clear up their memories and provide Cloud with affirmation at the same time. I think this is why Cloud is able to reintegrate his identity so shortly after revealing that he was there at the Nibelheim Incident.

Final Thoughts

Something else that came to mind while thinking about Cloud's reintegration is the fact that mentally, he is still around 16 years old. Developmentally, Cloud is still in a period where he would be exploring who he is and looking to the people around him to affirm him. Self-esteem is important for everyone, but especially volatile during adolescence. Teenagers are especially sensitive to other people's opinions, which only highlights the fact that Cloud truly needed to hear affirmation and encouragement from someone else. Because of this, and because of the emotional growth that Cloud experiences, I'd argue that in some ways you could think of his character arc as a coming-of-age story.

Cloud's personal journey is my favorite part of FFVII, and it's amazing to me how well it fits in with real world psychological concepts. I believe that it will be largely preserved from the OG, with expansions to add depth and nuance to Cloud's experience. He's the hero that was never really meant to be a hero but ended up saving the world anyway, and one of my favorite characters in fiction. I hope that my analysis successfully conveys the deep appreciation I have for Cloud's character.

I also might do a similar analysis on Sephiroth eventually?

A Clinical Analysis of Cloud's Psychology, Part II - Identity, Self-Concept, and Mako

This is the second part to my analysis series on Cloud's psychology, originally posted on Reddit. Reading the first part isn't necessary to understand this post, but highly encouraged. To give some background, I'm currently training in clinical diagnosis and psychotherapy to become a psychologist. I want to apply what I know to break down our understanding of Cloud in a clinical context.

Here, I'll talk about Cloud's identity, breaking it down based on how he understands himself and how it became distorted. I'll also discuss the role of mako poisoning and Jenova cells in Cloud's mental world, since I think these elements are especially hard to understand. Part of me wonders what's the point of rationalizing Cloud's mind in the context of real world psychology when Jenova is probably enough of an explanation. Still, I find it helpful to think of Cloud's identity crisis this way, especially when thinking about how he ends up healing.

Part I - Trauma, Dissociation, and Psychosis Part II - Identity, Self-Concept, and Mako [you are here] Part III - Reintegration, Tifa, and Unconditional Love

In my previous post, I made the argument that Cloud shouldn't be pathologized as someone experiencing psychosis. He is a traumatized individual who experiences dissociation in order to uphold a false identity. If Cloud experiences dissociation as a function of his identity crisis, then unraveling Cloud's identity is a crucial piece of the puzzle. Losing your sense of self is a drastic experience, and if we want to understand how Cloud's identity fell apart, we need to understand how his self-concept and experiences set up his vulnerability.

Self-Concept

Although we typically think of Cloud's identity as split between his ex-SOLDIER persona and his true self, I'm going to discuss these things within the context of self-concept. Humanistic psychologist Carl Rogers proposed that the self-concept is made up of three sub-components. Self-image is a person's mental picture of himself, which is prone to changing over time based on his self-esteem and understanding of his real self and ideal self. We know that Cloud's self-image is inaccurate at the beginning of the game due to his false ex-SOLDIER persona, which he wholeheartedly believes for a significant portion of the story.

Let's deconstruct Cloud's self-concept as it is when FFVII starts.

Ideal Self: Cloud is an ex-SOLDIER, a strong man capable of protecting those he cares about.

Real Self: Cloud is an ex-SOLDIER, a strong man capable of protecting those he cares about.

Self-Image: Cloud is an ex-SOLDIER turned mercenary. He is adept in combat and carries the pride and legacy of the First Class SOLDIER rank.

Why is Cloud's real self the same as his ideal self in this model? We know that Cloud experienced a lot of failures and was too weak to join SOLDIER. But, ex-SOLDIER Cloud is unaware of his true real self. As far as he's concerned, he achieved his goal of getting into SOLDIER and proved his strength. In this case, Cloud's real self and ideal self align, creating congruence with his self-image. The more congruent someone's self-concept is, the higher the self-esteem. Consequently, anything or anyone that reinforces this congruence will boost self-esteem. And, as we know very well, Cloud is proud of his ex-SOLDIER status from the start of FFVII and later internalizes pride from being Aerith's bodyguard, someone looked to as a protector. However, we know even Cloud's self-image here is inaccurate to his real self. The real Cloud never made it into SOLDIER and only wants to be acknowledged as strong. Neither his ideal self nor his self-image acknowledge this fact here. Back when Cloud was still aware of his real self, we saw that his self-esteem was poor.

Now, let's deconstruct Cloud's self-concept as it is prior to all of his traumatic experiences, which is right before the Nibelheim Incident.

Ideal Self: Cloud is a SOLDIER, a strong man capable of protecting those he cares about.

Real Self: Cloud is a Shinra grunt who was not strong enough to make it into SOLDIER.

Self-Image: Cloud is a Shinra grunt who never made it into SOLDIER because he was too weak. He is ashamed of his failure and does not want people in his hometown to know about it.

When Cloud failed to achieve his ideal self, he thought of himself as a failure, so much so that he couldn't bear to show his face when he returned to Nibelheim two years later. Self-esteem, which describes one's opinion of himself, relies on several components. A person's self-worth determines his perception of his individual value or worth. Self-worth is partly built by referencing how other people see you, a concept called the looking-glass self. We know that Cloud referenced other people's opinions of him during his childhood in Nibelheim. He wasn't friendly with the other children in the village, and in the OG, Tifa's father specifically didn't want Cloud near his daughter. This is also why he makes the flawed assumption that Tifa won't truly acknowledge him unless he proves his strength. We know that he aspired to become a SOLDIER was to get Tifa to notice him, so Cloud's concern over what she thinks of him shaped his ideal self. The other contributor to self-esteem is self-efficacy, or Cloud's belief in his own ability. Specifically, Cloud wants to prove his strength and capability as a protector. He equates SOLDIER to strength, so by failing to join SOLDIER and believing that he failed to protect his loved ones, Cloud's self-esteem took a turn for the worse.

With self-worth based on the negative opinions of the villagers and low self-efficacy based on his own perceived failures, Cloud's self-esteem is very low by default. Because Cloud's real self (Shinra grunt) didn't align with his ideal self (SOLDIER), he experienced incongruence, which further diminishes self-esteem and contributes to a negative self-concept. This is why he went to such drastic measures to hide his identity from Tifa and the rest of the villagers. One of the functions of the ex-SOLDIER persona, then, is to help Cloud maintain congruence within his self-concept. Not only that, but because Cloud's altered self-image was born from his ideal self, there is now a blurred line between his ideal self and real self. Rather than working to align his ideal self with his real self, he altered his beliefs about his real self to align with his ideal self. This is the reverse of what should happen; in therapy, you would be guided towards adjusting your ideal self to match more realistic expectations. Cloud needed to reject his real self in order to incorporate his ideal self as the real self, which is why the ex-SOLDIER persona looks like a delusion.

With this rejection of reality, Cloud was set up for a reckoning. When the truth of Cloud's ex-SOLDIER persona was revealed, he still wasn't able to access his real self, leaving him vulnerable to Sephiroth's manipulation. Sephiroth broke Cloud's self-image not just by creating incongruence in Cloud's self-concept, but by essentially eliminating the notion of a real self entirely. This means that Cloud's breakdown goes beyond incongruence. As far as he was concerned, Cloud no longer had a real self, therefore he no longer had any true sense of self-concept. Cloud was made to believe he was not Cloud from Nibelheim, but a hollow shell and a puppet. And this is exactly what breaks his sense of self all over again.

Jenova Cells and Mako Poisoning

I also want to take a moment to discuss the (fictional) biological agents that impacted Cloud's identity, mainly because these concepts are unique to the FFVII world. One of the main physiological problems Cloud experienced is mako poisoning. Remember that mako is made up of the souls of people in the lifestream. It's not just a natural energy source, it is literally millions of souls that make up the lifeforce of the planet. Tifa in the OG said that she literally heard "screams of anguish" surrounding her when she first fell into the lifestream. SOLDIER candidates (and Hojo's test subjects) undergo mako exposure with the hopes of obtaining enhanced physical and magical abilities that result from being imbued with the memories and knowledge of the planet. But, not just anyone can become a SOLDIER, since tolerating this much mako requires mental fortitude. Essentially, mako overwhelms a person with the souls and memories of the lifestream, therefore you must have a strong understanding of your own identity in order to tolerate large amounts of it. This suggests that a person needs a strong self-concept that can remain stable during mako exposure.

As a side note, an interesting thing about mako is that it reads very similarly to substance use. Different people have different tolerance for mako, with some being able to enjoy its benefits. Others though, are prone to succumbing to mako "addiction" as it's referred to in Crisis Core, which most often seems to result in catatonia. It seems to resemble how people in the real world can "lose themselves" to substance abuse. Of course, there's also the caveat that overexposure to mako can mutate humans and animals into monsters, so there's arguably some radioactive properties present as well. This isn't surprising, since one of the focuses of FFVII is environmentalism and the consequences of tampering with nature. Mako is such a fascinating phenomena in how it combines recreational, radioactive, and terrestrial/spiritual elements into an energy source of all things.

Unfortunately for 16 year old Cloud, since he had poor self-esteem and incongruence between his real self and ideal self, he had a weakened self-concept at the time Hojo got his hands on him. It's likely that Cloud's inability to tolerate mako is part of the reason he couldn't become a SOLDIER or withstand Hojo's experimentation, metaphorically representing how SOLDIERs need mental strength as well as physical strength. Not only that, but Cloud experienced mako poisoning on two occasions: once after Zack broke him out of Hojo's laboratory, and once after he first emerged in Mideel from the lifestream. Each time Cloud experienced mako poisoning, he was rendered catatonic and unresponsive, with his sense of self left in a vulnerable state. If we work off of the premise that mako is literally made up of the souls of the planet, one of the reasons that Cloud's self of sense was shattered was because of the overwhelming amount of memories that he was subjected to during mako exposure. His sense of self was literally torn apart, becoming lost among millions of other souls. Mako poisoning helped set the stage for the ex-SOLDIER persona to take shape, since it left him in a highly vulnerable state that is easily subject to Jenova's influence. Plus, if we equate mako tolerance to mental fortitude, this explains why after Cloud emerges from the lifestream for the third and final time, he didn't become catatonic a third time. By this point, he has regained his identity and his self-concept is strong enough to remain intact.

The other factor in the mix is Jenova, the primary source of supernatural conflict in the world of FFVII. According to the Dirge of Cerberus Complete Guide, Jenova is capable of reading "the memories and feelings of the people on the surface." This primarily refers to how it can mimic other people and begins, but we also know that Jenova is extremely attuned to the mental worlds of humans. It is capable of looking at people's thoughts, which it uses to manipulate them. Additionally, the Crisis Core Complete Guide says that "mentally weak people are unable to withstand Jenova's will, and it sometimes brings about mental abnormalities." I believe this is the basis of the Jenova Reunion Theory. This explains why Jenova's will is so powerful, which in turn seems to explain the Reunion theory. Again, all of this supports the notion that becoming a SOLDIER requires a good deal of mental strength.

Jenova explains why Cloud specifically took on Zack's memories as his own. Jenova's powers revolve around illusion and manipulation. Presumably, between the time that Zack died and the time Tifa stumbles across Cloud, Jenova has been taking advantage of Cloud's mental fragility by warping his memories. Jenova took memories from the dying Zack to mess with Cloud, consistent with what Sephiroth said. However, the brilliant part of this manipulation is that Sephiroth was also able to convince Tifa that her memories helped fabricate ex-SOLDIER Cloud, which is not quite true, but also not quite a lie. Tifa's presence likely kicked Cloud's ideal self into gear and presented further motivation to take on the ex-SOLDIER persona. Her uncertainty of her memories is the final piece that shatters Cloud's certainty of his own identity. Sephiroth may have been the one to explicitly accuse Cloud of never being a real person, but Jenova figuratively opened the door for him.

The Birth of the Ex-SOLDIER

Between the moment that Cloud watched Zack take his final stand and the moment Tifa finds him at the Sector 7 train station, Cloud experienced a severe mental metamorphosis that was strong enough to distort his fundamental understanding of who he is. What's unique about Cloud's experience is how a cocktail of influences converged into the perfect storm to break down and chaotically rebuild him.

All of these elements come together to explain how Cloud's ex-SOLDIER persona came to be. Cloud's self-esteem has been continuously beaten down over his entire life by a pattern of perceived failures. By the time he returns to Nibelheim at sixteen years old, he has such a poor self-image that he can't even bear to show his face to Tifa. He then goes through three deeply traumatizing experiences that essentially occurred back to back, as far as his conscious memory is concerned. The combination of psychological trauma and insecurity is what primed Cloud's sense of self to fall apart to mako poisoning, opening the gateway for dissociation from his own identity. His final unraveling was Zack's death, which broke down his self-esteem since he was helpless to do anything but watch Zack's demise. The Jenova cells then used Cloud's ideal self and his memories of Zack to manifest a false self-image that Cloud's mind desperately grabbed onto. He was further inspired by his promise to protect Tifa and his promise to be Zack's living legacy, which is what brings us to the ex-SOLDIER story that could fulfill both promises at once.

The ex-SOLDIER persona is ultimately a coping mechanism designed to protect Cloud's real self, which needed to process the intense trauma he experienced and deal with overwhelming feelings of despair, grief, and failure. His real self dissociated from the conscience and became suppressed, marking a departure from reality. Because Cloud's sense of self was inaccurate and he could no longer consciously access his real self, it left him vulnerable to Jenova and Sephiroth's deception later on, allowing them to deceive and manipulate him.

Based on what we currently know about Rebirth, it's very possible that Cloud's identity crisis will no longer play out the same way. For one, it's unclear if Cloud learns about Zack earlier, and if his identity remains intact even after learning about him. It's also unclear if Tifa will react differently to Cloud's recollection of the Nibelheim Incident. I believe though that all that is needed to retain the same story progression is (1) a fragile self-concept and (2) Tifa's uncertainty. As long as those two elements are preserved, I think it's still possible to reach the same destination even with some variations in the plot.

Part III will cover Cloud's recovery from his breakdown and will focus on the process of reintegrating a shattered identity.

A Clinical Analysis of Cloud's Psychology, Part I - Trauma, Dissociation, and Psychosis

This analysis was originally posted on Reddit, but I decided I wanted to archive it on this old blog too. This topic's been beaten to death already, but in light of the 25th anniversary stream and Rebirth trailer, I want to release my own take on Cloud's psychology using the lens of professional psychology. I'll cover a range of humanistic concepts and criteria from the DSM-5 (basically the bible of clinical psychiatric diagnosis) and tie them in with the lore of FFVII. Although the reasons for Cloud's identity crisis are well-known among OG fans, I'm interested in breaking down exactly why and how those factors resulted in his fabricated ex-SOLDIER persona within the context of real world psychology. I'm going to look into three main areas of exploration: trauma, identity, and reintegration. These areas will conceptualize how Cloud's experiences opened the gateway to pathology, how his understanding of himself is built and then shattered, and how the pieces come back together. This first post will cover the trauma piece, including the topics of dissociation and clinical diagnosis.

Part I - Trauma, Dissociation, and Psychosis [you are here] Part II - Identity, Self-Concept, and Mako Part III - Reintegration and Unconditional Love

One of the most common misperceptions about trauma is that any adverse experience will cause it. While it's true that adversity can cause stress, this belief undermines the remarkable resilience that humans have. The most important thing to consider is that everyone has resilience and the capacity for coping, but this differs from person to person. In the clinical context, traumatic experiences are defined as frightening, dangerous, or violent experiences that elicit strong emotions and physical reactions. People can also experience trauma by witnessing an event that threatens the life or physical security of a loved one (i.e. watching a parent die). When the stressfulness of a traumatic event exceeds a person's ability to cope, the stress becomes pathological and can be classified as trauma. The tragedy of Cloud's life is that his traumatic experiences are deeply stressful and essentially occurred back to back. Each event ticks off multiple boxes for the likelihood of trauma, and then Cloud essentially experienced them in succession, if we assume that his sense of time in Hojo's laboratory was warped due to catatonia.

Dissociation

Different people have different reactions to the same traumatic experiences, and the ex-SOLDIER persona is a unique one. Although we know Cloud's ex-SOLDIER persona is his primary consequence, there's a clinical way to contextualize what purpose it serves. Cloud's headaches are used as a constant indicator that something isn't right with him. His headaches are even described in the FFVII Remake Ultimania within his character profile (translation provided by aitaikimochi):

Cloud suffers from sudden headaches that last for brief moments. This pain is usually accompanied by flashes of his childhood, his fated opponent Sephiroth, or pieces of his past. There are times when visions of the future get mixed up as well. His headaches are filled with mysteries. Perhaps there might be more than one cause of these headaches that plague him...?

Aside from serving as narrative hints, the headaches are also connected to experiences of dissociation. Dissociation is a common consequence of trauma that center around a detachment from reality as a defense mechanism. It has numerous features, some of which open the gateway to psychosis. Let's focus on the specific features that are integrated into Cloud's story.

Memory

Memory is the largest piece of Cloud's dissociation since his ex-SOLDIER persona requires him to ignore key memories. At the start of FFVII, Cloud experienced problems with remembering anything between the Nibelheim incident and his arrival in Midgar. You could argue that Cloud has selective retrograde amnesia, but his memory between the time he left Nibelheim to join SOLDIER and the Nibelheim incident is deeply distorted, rather than unclear or largely missing. This hints to us that Cloud's memory problems are a function of dissociation, which is commonly invoked in trauma victims to protect them from memories of their traumatic experiences. Cloud's case is more complex though, since he also experiences identity problems. Even though sense of identity is also a feature of dissociation, we'll talk about it later in Part II.

Hearing voices 

Hearing voices can be considered a part of dissociation when the voices are internal, or inside the head. It's when they are external and appear to be coming from outside the body that we begin to think of psychosis. This is where fantasy starts to blur how we can interpret Cloud's psychology. Cloud mainly hears two different types of voices during his journey: Sephiroth's voice, and his own voice. Cloud hears Sephiroth's voice taunting him from time to time, and it is an external voice. However, it's important to recognize that Sephiroth is a true external influence with his own agenda. Therefore, we can assume that it really is Sephiroth speaking to Cloud, not just a fabrication of Sephiroth in Cloud's head. We know this because when he experiences a headache, Sephiroth's voice often comes after. Basically, the more unstable Cloud's identity becomes, the more he mentally vulnerable he is and the more he hears Sephiroth's voice.

The other voice, Cloud's own voice, is internal. The problem is, sometimes it's tricky to tell whether it is functioning as dissociation or as a storytelling device. The key to understanding this is recognizing that this internal voice is meant to represent Cloud's real self. Cloud's identity crisis is the core of his pathology and is portrayed as a suppression of his real self. The times when he does hear his real self appear to be moments of clarity. In this case, the voice of Cloud's real self is understood as a sign of deconstructed identity; this voice is a manifestation of dissociation.

Intense Flashbacks

Intense flashbacks are another common feature of dissociation. Again, our perception of this concept in Cloud is somewhat unclear due to the fact that flashbacks are also a storytelling mechanism. However, we can use Cloud's headaches as an indicator of whether he is recalling a memory voluntarily or involuntarily. Cloud's involuntary flashbacks are shown to be disruptive and disorienting. They will initiate sometimes due to triggers in the environment, but might also occur out of the blue. Again, these flashbacks largely tie back to Cloud's identity crisis, so it's safe to say that this is another feature of his dissociation.

Reality Testing

Reality testing refers to a person's ability to understand and distinguish the external and internal world, or reality and fantasy. When someone has problems with reality testing, he experiences hallucinations. For the most part, Cloud is able to grasp his reality and navigate the environment just fine. It's either when something in the environment triggers Cloud's memories or when Sephiroth reaches out to him that he experiences intense hallucinations, which are indeed moments of dissociation. Again though, it's sometimes hard to tell if these are fabrications of Cloud's mind or if they are purposeful illusions created by Sephiroth, especially since other party members can sometimes see Sephiroth as well. But, even though there are moments where Cloud seems to have trouble distinguishing reality from his imagination, these moments are better explained by Sephiroth's influence. Therefore, I wouldn't say that Cloud's hallucinations are a sign of psychosis.

The other complicated piece here is the knowledge that the existence of Cloud's ex-SOLDIER persona is an inherent rejection of reality. Essentially, the ex-SOLDIER persona is like a delusion, a fixed belief that is resistant to change even with the presence of conflicting evidence. Cloud has to reject the reality of who he is, what happened to him, and Zack's existence in order to keep himself grounded. This is maybe subject to change now in Rebirth, but as far as the original story goes, Cloud begins to doubt himself once he is told that his memories actually belong to another person he can't remember. So, should we still talk about psychosis?

Real World Disorders

Before we proceed, a disclaimer. I do have professional training in clinical diagnosis and psychotherapy, but ultimately I'm still playing armchair psychologist. This is just my personal take on Cloud's psychology.

When I talk about psychosis, this refers to a remarkable disconnect from reality (see the NIH). Psychotic episodes can involved disturbed thoughts and difficulty with understanding what is real and what is not. It seems appropriate to discuss psychosis in Cloud's case given that his dissociation does make us question his understanding of reality around him, including what he remembers.

One of the most common things that I've seen people speculate is Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID) due to the implication of the ex-SOLDIER persona as a distinct personality. DID was formerly called Multiple Personalities Disorder, and it's pretty much what it sounds like. The key feature of DID is the presence of two or more distinct personalities that alternate in the conscious. Most of the the time, each personality (or alter, as it's often called) is unaware of what the others are doing when they have control of the conscious. See Marvel's Moon Knight for an excellent recent portrayal of DID. There's a lot of dispute about what causes DID, but the general consensus is that DID results from the combination of childhood trauma, mostly abuse or neglect. To best explain it: "in DID, traumatic memories are decontextualized and processed to retain internal and external balance, which leads to formation of alter personality states each with a sense self and agency, personal history, and a mission" (Şar, 2014).

Despite this, I'd argue we cannot say that Cloud has DID as we understand it in the real world for several reasons. The most important aspect is that Cloud doesn't consistently switch between his ex-SOLDIER persona and his real self - in fact, his real self rarely if ever comes out explicitly. Rather, it looks like as long as the ex-SOLDIER exists, the real self is suppressed. This specifically tells us that Cloud's experiencing an identity issue. Furthermore, people with DID present remarkable problems with reality testing regardless of external influences. The times that Cloud sees and hears Sephiroth are arguably still partly hallucinations, but we already established that Sephiroth is deliberately messing with Cloud's sense of reality and identity in some form. He's purposefully taunting Cloud, especially when others cannot see him. We know that Sephiroth is literally reaching out to Cloud, that this isn't all happening inside Cloud's head. Therefore, Cloud's hallucinations are likely not a sign of psychosis, and it's unclear if we can even call them hallucinations in the first place.

If I had to give an armchair DSM-5 diagnosis to Cloud, I would suggest that he has Delusional Disorder. This disorder shares some features with Schizophrenia, but does not include hallucination as a symptom. More importantly, delusional disorder doesn't feature "bizarre or odd behavior" that's often seen in other psychotic disorders. Outwardly, people with delusional disorder don't appear delusional unless the subject of the delusion is involved. I do still hesitate with this diagnosis though, mainly because Cloud ultimately does respond to information that challenges his delusion. The DSM-V does specify that "individuals with delusional disorder may be able to factually describe that others view their beliefs as irrational but are unable to accept this themselves." When Cloud is explicitly confronted with information that is inconsistent with his delusion, this in fact opens the gate for Sephiroth to convince him that he is essentially not real. If he had delusional disorder, Cloud would have continued to reject reality.

The fact of the matter is that Cloud's ex-SOLDIER persona cannot be fully understood in the context of real world psychosis. The fantasy elements of FFVII complicate diagnosis, especially considering when and how the ex-SOLDIER persona was born. Plus, I wouldn't pathologize Cloud this far given that I don't think real world psychosis best explains what happens to him. While Cloud's ex-SOLDIER persona appears to be a delusion, it doesn't present negative consequences unless he's presented with conflicting information and is vulnerable to change when challenged. Essentially, we can partly understand the ex-SOLDIER persona as an ongoing dissociation that serves to protect Cloud from the memories of traumatic experiences. But, I wouldn't go so far as to give him a DSM-5 diagnosis.

Basically, we can't fully conceptualize Cloud within the realm of psychosis or personality disorders. Rather, his dilemma revolves around the deconstruction of his identity, which I'll discuss in my next post.

Truth

Having a comfort character is great and I think it’s fine to have one but if you can’t handle someone politely saying that they don’t like that character or giving criticism of them that’s probably something to bring up in your next therapy session.

i love it when italians argue about italian. like we don’t even know how our language really works we just roll with it

REBIRTH

One thing about fandom culture is that it sort of trains you to interact with and analyze media in a very specific way. Not a BAD way, just a SPECIFIC way.

And the kind of media that attracts fandoms lends itself well (normally) to those kinds of analysis. Mainly, you're supposed to LIKE and AGREE with the main characters. Themes are built around agreeing with the protagonists and condemning the antagonists, and taking the protagonists at their word.

Which is fine if you're looking at, like, 99% of popular anime and YA fiction and Marvel movies.

But it can completely fall apart with certain kinds of media. If someone who has only ever analyzed media this way is all of a sudden handed Lolita or 1984 or Gatsby, which deal in shitty unreliable narrators; or even books like Beloved or Catcher in the Rye (VERY different books) that have narrators dealing with and reacting to challenging situations- well... that's how you get some hilariously bad literary analysis.

I dont know what my point here is, really, except...like...I find it very funny when people are like "ugh. I hate Gatsby and Catcher because all the characters are shitty" which like....isnt....the point. Lololol you arent supposed to kin Gatsby.

FFVII Remake Easter Eggs and compilation continuity - Part 3: ADVENT CHILDREN

     KIDS

Feeling close to death, Biggs asks Cloud to take care for him of the orphans of the Leaf House. Cloud refuses implying that he doesn’t like kids. Anyway, not even one year later he will take care of both Marlene and Denzel, two orphans.

     SPARE GLASSES

In the movie Rude broke his glasses during the fight with the Remnants but he immediately replaced them with another pair. The same happens in the Remake in Chapter 8, during the fight against Cloud and Aerith. 

     AERITH’S CHURCH

The design of Aerith’s church is almost the same of the one showed in Advent Children.

     AERITH AND MARLENE

Just before the plate fall, Aerith goes to Seventh Heaven to save Marlene and the two share a sort of mysterious interaction. Despite having known her for so little, after two years Marlene will still be very fond of Aerith. She’ll have her same hairstyle but she’ll also be “special” since she’ll be the only kid not affected by Geostigma and she’ll perceive Aerith’s presence during the battle against Sephiroth. 

     SEVENTH HEAVEN

On the wall of Seventh Heaven there are some AC references: a picture of the future Seventh heaven and a blurred photo of future Barret, Marlene, Nanaki and Cait Sith.

     GEOSTIGMA

When Cloud met Sephiroth in the drum, he grabbed his left arm in pain while being mentally tortured - the same arm that will be affected by Geostigma.

     MOTORCYCLE FIGHT

The motorcycle fight with Roche recalls the chase on the highway of Midgar-Edge with the Remnants.

     WHISPERS

In Chapter 18 the Whispers mysteriously started cyrcling around the Shinra tower the same way the corrupted Lifestream will do in Advent Children.

When Sephiroth delivere the line “Destiny comes”, the Whispers started escaping in every direcion from the top of the Shinra tower. The same happens in the movie when the Lifestream finally erupts in the church. 

     VISIONS

During the battle against Whisper Harbinger, all the members of the group have some visions of the future, taken directly from the movie. 

     THE REMNANTS

Whisper Harbinger summons three “entities from a future timeline that have manifested in the present day", that the Ultimania confirms being manifestations of the Remnants:

Whishper Rubrum is a swordsman like Kadaj; 

Whisper Viridi is a pincher like Loz;

Whisper Croceo is a shooter. 

When they materialize Whisper Rubrum appears in front of Cloud and Whisper Viridi in front of Tifa (in the movie Cloud fought against Kadaj and Tifa against Loz).

After the battle the three entities merge together in Whisper Bahamut (in the movie the three remnants summoned Bahamut SIN).

     SEPHIROTH

Remake Sephiroth seems to have already experienced the events of Advent Children. In the original story he seemed to be indifferent about Cloud’s feelings, considering him no more than a numb clone, while in the Remake he started mentally tormenting him from the beginning.

Tell me what you cherish most, give me the pleasure of taking it away.

7R: You’re too weak to save anyone. Not even yourself. - You’ve failed again, I see.

AC: I’m not fit to help anyone. Not my family. Not my friends. Nobody.

     FINAL BATTLE

Sephiroth starts the final battle with the same gesture he used in the movie to summon the corrupted Lifestream.

He throws at the enemies debris of a destroyed Midgar like in the movie.

In both installments there’s a huge swirl of corrupted Lifestream in the sky.

Sephiroth shows one single black wing like he did in the final stages of the battle in Advent Children.

-

For the other parts refer to the masterpost

lmao

As I say constantly, there's a time and place for everything, different types of conversations that have different kinds of approaches. Half the battle seems to consistently be about finding the best approach for discussions or taking in material. I tour a lot of the FF and KH fandom, amongst others every now and then, and it's...bad. It's bad every where, I suppose.

Approach to analysis is important. Analyzing to prove vs. to understand is different.

Proving, through that of a preconceived conclusion, an agenda—this has way too many potential issues. This is where you run into confirmation bias, cherry-picking, contextual problems, logical fallacies, contradictions, or really just, inefficient takes that manipulate the information to fit into whatever someone is trying to prove. Instead of investigating the little, square-shaped hole and what naturally fits or doesn't fit, hell, even what could fit through even if it's the wrong shape but the right size—you might end up just trying to force this big triangle through, changing the hole itself or destroying the whole thing altogether.

This doesn't always turn out this way, like when making fun theories, but boy have I seen that more often. Even theories can end up being negative. I mean, I'VE done that before years ago, and had to realize my own immaturity when I started getting indignant. Once you get passed that, you realize how tiring it is to even be this way.

However, if your goal is To Understand, you're in a much better position to take in the material as it is. You let what's there, what's a part of it, to shape the conception of your conclusions and that of your perception. You rely on the information and corresponding outliers to be the context. It may even change or challenge your preconceptions and personal perspective, and you have to be willing to allow the material to do that. It's natural when taking something in the first time to have some type of idea or understanding—subtext in and of itself relies on an audience's ability to already understand something. However, once you settle down and say "let me look at this", you have to free yourself, well FROM yourself, a bit, as much as you can. Because even certain content as it is enforces a bit of our own thoughts to understand it (like subtext). But, you have to try for the sake of being objective, because it's not about you at that point, it's about the thing you're examining. This is much more fun, for me.

This is definitely a general thing, but in regards to fandom, it gets real twisted, and you have people who aren't letting the content itself be the leading point to what they understand, and the logic used is reflective of that. It's actually easy for this to happen, on different levels, so it's not always this super negative or mal-intent thing.

But damn when it is, and people eat up that bullshit, it can be real bad, cause confusion, and at times make if very difficult to even talk about the content itself because then it isn't about it, it's about something else. Real life, yeah, but I feel like fandoms are petri-dishes for this type of thing because of the inclination of personal investment and feelings.

Love love LOVE these! 🤩💖

This is beautiful ❤️

Cr: checkoutafrica : IG

What makes the identification of a character should start at their character construction—as a writer, this is when you’re determining the existence of this character, the motivation that drives their agency and purpose in the story (or even that of the story itself), etc. If this is layered [depth], only then would I personally say they’re a “complex character”.

What flows through that and becomes a part of the character’s “dynamic range”, like their personality and the range of elements attached to their character that is shown in different situations—like the, “this character acted this way here”, and “they showed this there”, “they have this significant item to represent this”, etc. This can easily be synonymous to that construction, or it can really just be it’s own thing if written that way. This in of itself can be interesting and “layered” in the sense that there is variety, hence the “dynamic range” terminology, but the understanding of that is different than what is for the sake of describing a character’s depth for identification. I would argue this is defined at the construction stage as opposed to in the counted showings of dynamic range, that otherwise, doesn’t have to be dependent upon what’s established in the construction. If you can see the flow in the range, chances are it started at the construction either way. A character’s growth is also NOT what defines their complexity, but that too can be synonymous to the construction and flow through for better storytelling. If their purpose is what changes and adds layers, depths—the WHY to what their purpose is, the it definitely applies. In most cases, you’d hope it does, but of course, you can have character’s undergo change for a specific element (or just learn something, becoming better on that front), but what sets their purpose is still 1 layer. Basically, the “lesson learned” could be an isolated thing that doesn’t really interact with their purpose as a character.

And to make it clear, whether a character is “complex” or not DOES NOT determine if they’re a good/poorly written character. I will never not stop fighting that as the art of simplicity or “less is more” is literally a thing that translates in a lot of different things. A simple character can absolutely be fine.

This is really primarily in the perspective of how we identify characters and really why—at least on this level of identification (things like complex, simple, protagonist, antagonist, etc.), the construction level makes more sense than the conditional moments alone. And it can be important as to not create a misleading, if inefficient label on the character. You can’t just identify a character as a “fan-service character” because the author wrote a few moments like that (which is typically more about their style than it is about the character), or if to go even more general, to be like, this is a “video game character” for a character that originated and immediate source material is that of a “anime or manga”. Like, the type of answer you’d give if you’re answering “who is this?” Of course, complex vs simple is a weird answer to give, but if for the sake of identifying FOR a character’s existence, then the logic still applies.

Some examples I’d look at are three well known shonen protags of Naruto, Goku, and Luffy.

Continua a leggere

Crisis Core Transcripts

The long awaited (??? by me) master post of links to the Crisis Core (2007) transcripts. This bs was typed up by hand by yours truly because SOMEONE made UMDs very difficult to rip (<3 u SONY).

Link to gdrive folders hosting transcript documents.

Link to my fancy dedicated tumblr page for this nonsense because I can't not go overboard?? (it is maybe a convenient place to bookmark)

Check below the fold for direct links to specific content.

Complete Transcript                 (  Abridged   /   Unabridged  )

00. Prologue

01. Embrace Your Dreams       (  Abridged   /   Unabridged  )

02. Betrayal                              (  Abridged   /   Unabridged  )

03. Monster                              (  Abridged   /   Unabridged  )

04. An Angel's Dream              (  Abridged   /   Unabridged  )

05. Where Are You?                 (  Abridged   /   Unabridged  )

06. Protect Your Honor           (  Abridged   /   Unabridged  )

07. Departure                           (  Abridged   /   Unabridged  )

08. See You Soon                    (  Abridged   /   Unabridged  )

09. Escape the Nightmare     (  Abridged   /   Unabridged  )

10. Heroes                               (  Abridged   /   Unabridged  )

Credits

DMW Scenes

Yuffie Missions

Other Missions

Angeal always bothers me and idk how to word it!! Not sure your take on why or what you see with his character in general but I'd love to know bc this has been bothering me forever

so this got. a little more heated than i thought it would. sorry anon lmao

angeal stans this is your warning!! nice things are not said under the cut

so angeal exists in the narrative to be the dead mentor figure so we feel bad for zack and to infodump a little about his and genesis's pasts in the beginning so genesis gets a modicum of development as well. he also does some obligatory passing on of his legacy of soldier honor and morals to zack so zack has a clear model to follow and we as the audience can see his growth from somewhat careless and cocky to a little more serious and driven after angeal's death. on a deeper level, angeal also exists as a counterpoint to genesis's and sephiroth's respective models of heroism, where (simply put) angeal's is staying true to a code of honor to protect the people, genesis's is being recognized by the public for heroic deeds, and sephiroth's is manufactured success and perfection in performance

and like, crisis core shows that each of these models doesn't work. in the case of angeal, his rigid adherence to a code of honor to remain morally pure leads to his downfall. especially with the circumstances of his death-- like, death before dishonor is an incredibly strong concept in japanese culture, but it's pretty clear in cc that what angeal does in forcing zack's hand is somewhat backwards in logic. like, where was this revelation that he was hurting people back in the middle of the war with wutai where he was literally destroying people’s villages and livelihoods vs. now when the war is literally over and he isn’t actively hurting people?? but. whatever. sure, let's assume this was the turning point that finally made him realize what he’s done in the past

but even then he doesn't solve anything, he doesn't try to help anyone despite that being basically his motto, he just gives up because he himself doesn't fit into his strict worldview-- if he isn't the hero he thought he was, then he must be a monster, and he can't be tolerated to exist. angeal quite literally shatters under the weight of his morals

there's also the issue of the story from his childhood, which is supposed to show his character as honorable à la "honor can exist in unconventional ways" but. it fails to establish him as such imo. it's like, you're too proud to accept help so you're gonna steal from people instead? and not even the rich people because one of them is your friend?? like there's a difference between being honorable and being too proud, especially if part of your motto is to protect others. it feels like a weird blend of capitalist work ethic + robin hood-esque imagery while missing the part where robin hood didn't actually steal solely because he was poor, he stole because fuck rich people and so he could help other poor people. you know. by giving them the handouts angeal is apparently too proud to accept

he's just a huge hypocrite, which makes his lectures on honor and pride feel all the more sanctimonious. he tries so hard to keep the moral high ground that the moment he comes up against something that actually tests his self-perception, he just shrugs and goes "guess i'll die". i feel like that was the entire point of how crisis core wrote him, especially given the role the buster sword plays in symbolizing his honor (aka use it or lose it), but the overall fandom tends to treat him as objectively the best of the firsts, like this bitch didn't just nosedive into drama queen territory just as quickly as the other two. i think @ladylokiofmidgard put it best when she said he has the moral backbone of a chocolate éclair

like angeal is as bland as white bread but somehow manages to singlehandedly piss me off more than any other character in the compilation. i could go on more but this post is already too long as it is

anyways. angeal was wrong. the buster sword is a metaphor for his failure to uphold his own philosophies relative to the people who inherited it. fight me

FFVII Remake Easter eggs and compilation continuity - Part 2: CRISIS CORE

     RUDE BEING...RUDE

When Cloud and Aerith meet Rude in Sector 5 he unceremoniously asks if he’s “her new boy toy”, referring to Zack. Crisis Core established that the Turks knew Zack and were aware of his relationship with Aerith.

    THE PUPPY

Stamp is a new element introduced in the Remake, which makes a mysterious appearance at the end of the game when Zack seemingly subverts his destiny. In Crisis Core Angeal used to refer to Zack as “puppy”. 

“Are you Zack the puppy? My son wrote to me once about you, zero attention span, restless as a little puppy.”

    BANORA WHITE

There are lots of billboards and flyers of “Banora White apple juice” around Midgar. Both Banora and its apples were introduced for the first time in Crisis Core and linked to Genesis.

     ORPHANS

This may be not intentional but it’s still odd to be just a coincidence: one set of Crisis Core side missions involved some orphans who escaped from a Shinra “care facility”. In the Remake, the Leaf House is an orphanage and, according to the novel “Traces of two pasts”, it is under Shinra’s influence.

      DATING

Just like in the OG, Aerith asks Cloud to be her bodyguard in exchange of one date. Her gesture is exactly the same of Zack’s when he asked her for one date.

    SELLING FLOWERS

When Aerith and Cloud arrive in Evergreen Park, she mentions the time she used to sell flowers there, which happened 5 years before with Zack.

“You know, a long time ago, I used to sell flowers here.”

    YOUR EYES

In Chapter 9 Aerith comments about Cloud’s beautiful mako eyes the same way she did with Zack. In the Japanese version, Cloud and Zack answer her with the same sentence:

Aerith: きれい (...) 瞳 [Beautiful (...) Eyes]

Zack/Cloud: 魔晄を浴びた者の瞳　ソルジャーの証だ [Eyes of those exposed to Mako, the mark of SOLDIER]

    PINK DRESSES

In Crisis Core Zack asked Aerith to wear something pink when they'd meet again. Even though Aerith’s dress has always been pink since the OG, her new optional Wall Market dresses are pink as well.

“From now on, why don’t we make a promise every time we meet? (...) For example, when we meet, you always have to dress in pink.”

    TRAINING ROOM

In Shinra HQ there’s a battle simulator where Zack and the other SOLDIERs used to train in CC.  

    SOLDIER PROJECT

During the meeting with the President and the Shinra executives in Chapter 16, Hojo mentions SOLDIER types G and S. He war referring to the two main projects behind the SOLDIER program - Hollander’s Project G and Hojo’s project S.

CC: “Jenova project G gave birth to Angeal and monsters like myself [Genesis]. Jenova project S used the remains of countless failed experiments to create a perfect monster [Sephiroth].” 

7R: “We could have the Ancient reproduce. (...) I would start with candidates from SOLDIER. These would of course include S and G types.” 

    CELLULAR DEGRADATION

In Chapter 7 President Shinra points out that SOLDIERs usually die prematurely due to cellular degradation. Genesis, after being wounded in the battle simulator, started suffering of severe and irreversible cellular degradation.

“Once a SOLDIER, always a SOLDIER. Though not, alas, for very long. Accelerated cellular degradation being the most common cause of death by far.”

    FALLEN ANGELS

While Sephiroth’s black wing was shown for the first time in Andvent Children some visual elements of the Remake recall elements from Crisis Core related to Genesis and Angeal.

    KUNSEL

In Shinra HQ some troopers recognize Cloud and mention Kunsel, a SOLDIER and close friend of Zack’s.

“Cloud? You’re Cloud right? (...) We went through training together. (...) Hey, sit tight man - I’mma go get Kunsel.

    BARRET’S LAST STAND

“Worst route ever. Gimme a suicidal last stand. At least - At least - at least that’d have an end!”

Barret says this when he reaches the 49th floor of Shinra HQ backstairs - SOLDIERs floor. It’s a reference to Zack’s last stand.  

    THE LIFESTREAM 

After the defeat of Whisper Harbinger the protagonists end up in a place full of light and walk on a watery surface. The same happened in Crisis Core during Zack’s dream that foreshadowed his death, a representation of the Lifestream. 

    FREEDOM

Before entering the sincularity in Chapter 18, Aerith says that beyond the portal there’s “Freedom. Boundless, terrifying freedom. Like a great, never-ending sky.” These words are a callback to Zack’s iconic “The price of freedom is steep”.

    THE SKY

In Crisis Core Aerith told Zack that she felt safe under the plate because the real sky frightened her. She reiterates this concept at the end of the Remake when she said “I miss it, the steel sky” (aka the plate), in Japanese "The sky, I hate it”.

    ZACK’S LAST STAND

This scene is repeated shot-for-shot in Chapter 18.

For the other parts refer to the masterpost

Final Fantasy VII Illustration by:  魚與花雕 @Anu_yu on twitter 

★MASTERPOST★

Please do not reblog as this is subject to constant updating

Easter eggs and compilation continuity

NB: This part includes a series of article I had already posted with my other - now deleted - account. Some of the trivias come from the Remake Ultimania, for which I highly recommend to check (and support) this amazing English fan translation.

Part 1 - Before Crisis

Part 2 - Crisis Core

Part 3 - Advent Children

Part 4 - Dirge of Cerberus

Part 5 - On the way to a smile

Part 6 - The kids are alright: a Turk's side story

Part 7 - Original FFVII - 1

Part 8 - Original FFVII - 2

Part 9 - Extras

Theories

Aerith's legacy

My beloved Wutai

Sonon

OG vs Remake

Main characters (visual comparison)

Affection mechanics

LTD related stuff

Tanabata